Lentil & Mushroom Wellington

📝 Ingredients

• 200 g dried green lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• 400 g button mushrooms
• 125 g baby spinach
• 1 brown onion (about 150 g) + 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil (1 for the filling, 1 for the salad)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 eggs (1 whole + 1 white for the filling, 1 yolk for the glaze)
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 1 rectangular sheet of puff pastry (230 g)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 125 g mixed salad leaves + 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (for the salad)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Saucepan
• Large frying pan
• Mixing bowl
• Baking tray + baking paper
• Pastry brush
• Bread knife

📖 Steps

1. Put the rinsed lentils in the saucepan with the bay leaf and three times their volume of cold water, without salt. Bring to the boil, then cook at a gentle simmer for 20 to 25 min, until tender but still whole. Salt at the end of cooking and drain thoroughly.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms (with a knife, or in short pulses in a food processor). Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5 min until translucent.
3. Add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme, turn up to a medium-high heat and cook for 10 to 12 min, stirring often, until all the released liquid has evaporated and the mixture starts to brown. This is the key step: a wet filling would make the pastry soggy.
4. Add the spinach and soy sauce and stir for 1 to 2 min, until the leaves have wilted and there's no liquid left. Tip into the mixing bowl with the drained lentils (bay leaf removed), roughly mash half of it with a fork and leave to cool slightly for 10 min.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Crack one egg into the filling; separate the second, add its white to the filling and keep the yolk in a bowl for the glaze. Add the breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper and mix: the filling should hold together when squeezed in your hand.
6. Unroll the pastry on its paper directly onto the baking tray. Spread the mustard over the centre, leaving a 3 cm border free. On top, lengthways, shape a firmly packed log of filling about 7 cm wide and 6 cm high, leaving 3 cm of pastry free at each end.
7. Fold one side of the pastry over the filling, then the other on top, overlapping by 2 cm. Turn the Wellington over so the seam is underneath and pinch the ends to seal. Brush with egg yolk, lightly score with a knife and pierce 2 small holes to let the steam escape.
8. Bake for 35 min, until the pastry is well puffed and deep golden, including underneath. Leave to rest for 10 min before slicing with a bread knife, otherwise the slices fall apart. Meanwhile, dress the mixed salad leaves with the rest of the oil, the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.